Investigating routine and adaptive expertise of experienced teachers in English for academic purposes writing

This classroom-based case study explores how experienced English for Academic Purposes (EAP) writing teachers apply their routine and adaptive expertise in an EAP composition program. Particularly, the study involves two experienced EAP writing teachers and examines their instructional strategies, focusing on how they navigated the pre-established curriculum with their rich teaching backgrounds. Data collection include classroom observations, reflective journals, and semi-structured interviews, capturing how these teachers deployed and adapted their routine expertise in a new teaching environment and responded to prescribed course materials and content. Findings indicate that while the teachers are well-versed in student-centered pedagogies and process-oriented writing instruction, they exhibited adaptive expertise by critically evaluating and modifying program-imposed materials. The research illustrates that routine and adaptive expertise are cooperative and symbiotic. Routine expertise serves as the foundation, enabling the development of adaptive expertise used to address teaching challenges and student needs dynamically. Implications of this study are comprehensive: informing future research, EAP writing teacher education, and professional development.